Looking for the best edging for mulch? Here are my best DIY choices for keeping mulch contained with edging. Not only will you be able to make this edging yourself but it will look amazing too. Let’s get into it!
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Do you need edging to separate grass and mulch?
If you google anything to do with mulch edging, there are a bunch of different products and ideas you can implement to edge your mulch.
But you probably wonder, is this really necessary?
Mulch edging is best used to maintain order in your garden and separate areas of grass and different types of mulch.
Whether it be due to wind, rain or the pet dog, mulch can get messy. So if you want to uphold order and neatness in your outdoor space, mulch edging is probably for you.
DIY Brick edging
I like brick edging because with a few old bricks lying around, you can create a border that really looks pleasing to the eye
Plus, you get to have some creativity and wiggle room when creating your edging as bricks can be arranged to your liking.
Another reason I like bricks is once installed, they are hard to move about, especially if you cement them in place.
No one wants to place down a lovely set of edging to keep your much in place, only to have to clean up the edging and the mulch in the next few weeks due to the edging falling apart!
A top tip to keep down the price of your edging further is to look for bricks that are being thrown away on sites like craigslist or even at local waste disposal areas.
A cool thing about bricks too is the orange creates a colour popping border that can really visually enhance your garden!
And if you don’t like the colour of bricks, use breeze blocks or different colours. There are a lot of varieties and possibilities.
Gabion wall you can make yourself
Gabion walls have made it on the list because while they may have some upfront cost to them, they are unique and not normally installed as garden edging.
If you revel in the comments and compliments you get from having a good looking outdoor space that you did yourself and pride yourself in your environment, Gabions will be a great standout feature for your space.
They create something pleasing to the eye and are very practical in keeping your mulch in place.
You may have seen gabions at the seaside to protect the coastline form oncoming waves, but you can use little mini gabions to keep your mulch in place too!
Now if I haven’t sold you on putting up a gabion already, they also allow you choose the colour of stone you want which is ideal if you want to maintain a certain look and feed the part of our brain that loves to customize and tailor things to your taste.
To put one up, begin by carefully planning and measuring the dimensions you’d need for putting one up and visit a company like Stone Decorative to purchase your materials.
All in all, gabions are a great project to get involved with if you fancy doing some DIY and getting your hands dirty in building and design.
Car tyres for mulch edging
This is probably the easiest way you could start doing some DIY garden edging immediately. Get your hands on some second hand tyres and get to business!
Car tyres keep mulch in the right places without standing out or making a fuss.
I have to be honest and give you the good and bad of things though. Car tyres used for mulch edging isn’t the most durable and may crack, break or even come out of the soil overtime.
Make sure you bury your car tyres deep in to the soil to avoid this and read up on how to keep you mulch edging in place here too
Stones for mulch edging
Stones are boring, why would this have made the list of the best DIY ideas for mulch edging?
The reason is because of how versatile stones are. One of the great ways you can use stones as edging is by partially digging them in to the soil.
This is great if your stones are flatter in nature like slats are where you can create your own thin border around your mulch.
Of course, you may not have or want to work with slats, therefore another thing you can do is find the flattest edge of each of your stones and align them to create a natural edging like shown.
This will create a cool looking mulch edging that will stay in place for a long time. Especially given the fact that stones used for mulch often doesn’t slide downhill. Perfect for if you are having problems keeping mulch in place on a slope.
Top tip: to keep your stones holding back as much mulch as possible. Fill in the gaps in between the stones with cement if you care to.
Another top tip: Paint the stones all one colour before laying them down to create a modern, monochrome finish!
Concrete edging
When laying down concrete skirting as edging, please please be careful and place it carefully.
No one wants to revisit the store to buy more materials and concrete skirting is extremely brittle.
Otherwise concrete is a great example of an edging material that doesn’t require much time or attention to install and gives a classy, professional finish.
Customize it by painting it with patterns or adding colour.
DIY wooden panels
Wooden panels can come in the form of the old skirting board you used in your house to the panels you buy from a store that sells wood.
What I like about using wood for DIY mulch edging is it’s a natural material that blends extremely well with the surrounding area.
A slight downside is the cutting for your wood. It is not every day you have a saw lying around so It may be difficult cutting out the panels for your liking. But when you do, enjoy a clean, natural look.
Wooden panels are a popular choice among those who like to DIY because your are only limited by how creative you can be. Adding in columns, posts, etchings, different wood types or even varnish are all options.
Wooden pillars
The wooden pillars you’d use for columns going up a staircase area great for some DIY mulch edging.
Once you have your hands on some wooden pillars, cut them out to your desired height to keep back the mulch and bury them in a straight line in the soil along the edge.
If you have patterns in your columns, this method can come out particularly fancy and even look more like a “wall”
On the down side, you may find that some soil annoyingly creeps its way through the cracks in your edging when you use wooden pillars
Simply stack them closer together to avoid any soil leaks that will create annoying mess in your garden
I find wooden pillars great for creating a natural look in your garden while being able to keep back a higher volume or height of mulch. Wooden pillars works well here in this instance.
BONUS: White edging with dark mulch
One of my absolute favourite looks for garden edging is creating an area with dark mulch and white edging.
The colours work well together and create a modern look that pops!
Check out these examples of mulch and garden edging to recreate this look for yourself.
Edging Ideas
Have a good browse online and in store for the perfect white edging for you. You don’t want to rush such a personalized and delicate design such as this one.
EasyFlex Decorative Edging
White EasyFlex Decorative Edging
While I’ve never used the product myself, reviews say they look just like the images and would create a nice white border that is easy to install.
White stones
Buying some simple white stones from your local gardening store can be a great way to get your hand on white edging too.
Granite, marble and Chalk are all great choices when picking stones for your space that are cheap, durable and most importantly – white!
Mulch
Just like when shopping for edging. Make sure you choose the right type for your needs. Consider labour costs, price of materials, if it is biodegradable, the function your mulch and even how much you need before going ahead.
Rubber mulch
With this type of design a nice dark rubber mulch works wonders to contrast. Judging by the sample from this pack on Amazon it would create the correct aesthetic.
International RM16BK black mulch
I get it – rubber mulch isn’t for everyone and having biodegradable mulch in your garden may be a requirement
Get your hand on some lovely dark woodchip mulch, black gravel or even compost for alternatives
How to choose what edging you should use for your mulch
The process of choosing edging for your mulch beds can be both time consuming and frustrating. I cannot tell you what to do as you know your outdoor space best. Asking yourself the following questions may help you decide:
- What is the material cost?
- What is the labour cost to install?
- What aesthetic appearance am I going for?
- Will it wash away?
- Will it blow away?
- Does it need to be biodegradable?
- Am I installing on a slope?
- Do I have a budget?
Once decided, the next step would be ordering materials and setting up a plan to get your mulch edging in place. Good luck!